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October 31, 2011

Our ward finally decided to have a trunk or treat this year. We are so glad they did too. I love the idea of going from trunk to trunk instead of door to door. Plus this way, you trust the people who are giving you candy and you don't have to worry about your kids knocking on some creepy person's door asking for their creepy candy.
The boys were excited. We had Grandma and Grandpa Quinn over for octopus hot dogs and mumies in a blanket. They LOVED it! It was a fun dinner to have for the boys on Halloween night.

Then we headed over to the church for Trunk or treating. It was so blasted cold this year. I bet it was only 45 degrees outside and it was really windy. So it didn't last that long this year for our family. We got our candy and headed back indoors at home where it was nice and warm. So another year has come and gone. Next year we will take Ellie out. This year Grandma was so nice to stay behind and watch her. Thanks Grandma!

October 30, 2011

That was all I could think about today, " It's just a Sunday!" I don't know why but Sunday seems to be the most hectic day for me out of all the days of the week. I hate to admit it, but its true! Seems like we are on the go from 6:30 a.m. until bed time at 8 p.m. Tonight was no different. Since Lance was set called to serve as Young Men's President, his morning consists of meetings and after church also. So it is crazy getting myself and 4 little ones dressed and ready to go when dad comes back to pick us up at 8:30 a.m. Doesn't that seem so early? It does to me. Now that the sun doesn't even show its face until almost 8:30- 9 a.m. it makes it just a little harder to roll out of bed and start another day.
The kids did pretty well in Sacrament today. Ellie fussed so it usually means either Lance or I walking and bouncing the hallways with her.
After church we always go to my parents house for the afternoon to visit with them and to have Sunday dinner. I love Sunday dinners over there. I enjoy being back in the house I grew up in. Something about home that makes me always want to go back.
This evening my dad hid a bunch of Halloween candy in their back yard for all the kids to find. They just thought that was the coolest thing. Thanks dad for making their evening! Even though it consisted of sugar, it was fun. Tis the holiday season right?

We tried to get our kids to be happy to take some family pictures, but needless to say they didn't turn out well. I never seem satisfied when someone else takes our picture. Either they take them at the wrong angle, or to close up or too far away, they never really turn out so this years Christmas card might be a disappointment. But we still have time left to take more.

Some of my children were happy and some of them were not, as you can tell in our family photo. At one point all my children were crying in the car on the ride over to my parents. It just makes mom feel so happy and want to sing songs. It wore me out seirously and we all look it too.

﻿Wow, have I really aged that much? I admit it has been really hard to loose all the Ellie weight. Grant it, it has only been 3 months, but seriously, this picture proves that workouts need to be more intense. Isn't if funny that we are never content with ourselves. There is always room for improvement.

Ellie, what can I say? I am really tired. I am exhausted. She has really gotten better but today I felt like it was 2 steps back. She cried a lot today. I know she was really tired but really? She cried from about 3-7:30 p.m. That makes for a really long afternoon. She is so gosh darn cute though so it is hard to get mad. I just look at her and feel so thankful that the Lord sent her to us. She is a blessing.

You can tell who was happy and who was not. Keaton had an emotional breakdown on the ride over. So he refused to smile for anyone. Too bad because they might have to go in the christmas picture. Sorry Keaton, that is what happens when you don't smile. The world will see it.

There are moments when I look at his smile and I just melt. I really love this boy!

Owen, well he has been by far the hardest two year old I have been in charge of. It's either his way or the higway and when he doesn't get it, watch out. We wonder if it is time for his big boy bed yet, but Lance and I look at each other and we aren't ready for that yet.

His nursery teacher commented to Lance today that he is really sweet in the nursery. He cleans up when they clean up and he really eats when they eat. In fact today she said that he usually knows when it is time for clean up and snack time and usually starts the song to remind the teachers. Today was no different. The teachers were behind on schedule and here came Owen singing the clean up song for her and letting her know it was past time for snacks. She was thankful for the reminder. That's my boy!

Now it is 9 p.m. and everyone in the house is fast asleep. I can hear nothing but noise makers running. It is a beautiful sound after a long Sunday.

Yesterday I took some pictures for my sister Rachel and her family. They are so photogenic it was great. My two neices Olivia and Ava were just so sweet. It was so much fun to see them interact with each other. They sure love each other. Rachel, my sister, inherited all the beauty in our family. Aren't they a beautiful family? Thanks for a fun afternoon with your family Rachel! I really enjoy being with you guys.

October 25, 2011

It was that time of the year. It has become our family tradition to go to the Palmer's Fall Party. It is a great event that our friends put on each year at their home. It isn't Halloween until we have gone to the Palmer's party either in our home. Our boys look forward to it every year and this year was just as good.

Can you tell what Ellie was for Halloween? Grandma was so kind to stay behind and watch her while she slept the entire time, by the way. Thank you Ellie!﻿

I miss the days when I had control over what my kids could dress up as. This year they really wanted to be Power Rangers. We said "No way!" So they settled for ninjas instead. It's doable.﻿

Owen still has to say in what he gets to be. He is a cute little tiger this year.

My neice Olivia was the cutest little monster I ever saw. Isn't she just so sweet?

We all met up at Grandma and Grandpa's house. They live just down the road from where the party started. So Grandpa pulled up to the back of their house and we loaded all the kiddos up into the back of the truck and drove down to Charlie Horse Lane. There is always a hayride waiting to carry all the people back to the place. My kids loved it! Owen loved that tractors were involved. I am not sure where his fasination for tractors started but he was in heaven.
Every year Batman and Spiderman parachute into the party. The wind died down just in time for them to make their appearance. All the kids went crazy. When I say kids, there are probably at least 200 kids there. All waiting for them to land, so they can run up and see the superheros. So they did it again this year. It was so fun to see. I don't think Owen really got into it but the other ones sure did. Our good friends who live next door met us there and their children drew pictures for them and I think Batman and Spiderman were alitlte suprised with that but loved it just the same.

They always have Chili and cornbread to eat, but since that doesn't sit to well with a nursing mom and little kids tummies we had dinner with Grandma and Grandpa before the party started.
There were a lot of things to do there. After the superheros land the wicked witch of the west flies over in her little plane and drops candy off for all the kids to run and find. She flew over about 4 times and each time the kids went crazy.

Here comes the plane﻿

Can you see all the candy it was dropping off?

Even adults did too. Sometimes you had to duck in fear of a hard candy getting you in the face. Believe me it happened last year and my neice got a black eye because of it.
It was a litte chilly this year so we headed back home after the candt was collected. W were all okay with that and it was bed time.
Another great year. Another great tradition. I love this time of year.

October 19, 2011

Who do you think Ellie looks like the most? We are wanting to see what you say. Let us know. Personally, we think she is a good mix between Keaton and Owen.

Everyone always tells us that all our children look all alike. I can see why they think that way. I think the one baby that stands out on his own is my Andrew. He looks more like the Quinns then the others who have definite Snyder features.
Keaton was my first baby boy. He screamed non-stop, wouldn't eat, wouldn't sleep, caused me a lot of sleepless nights and days. Loved him to death though.
Andrew was my second boy. He was the most pleasant baby to be around. Never really cried. Loved his binki and blanket. Never really made a sound unless hungry or tired. He was my smallest birthweight baby but my fatest baby if that makes sencse. He doubled his birth weight in just 3 months. He was our RSV baby who was in the hospital for 9 days at only 3 months of age.
Owen, well he was our third. Couldn't be more blessed with a third boy in a row. He was your average baby. Cried when he was hungry and tired. He was pretty content too. Never really wanted a binki. Weaned himself about 3 months of age. Never went back.
Ellie, well she is a lot like Keaton. She cries, she does eat better than what Keaton did. She does sleep at night {which is the best part} and she doesn't like a binki. She doesn't really like her swing. Only if she is really asleep and we put her in it will she stay there.
Who ever they look like, I will claim them because all these beautiful babies are MINE, MINE, MINE!

I can't believe my little Ellie is going to be 3 months next week. Some days I look at her and wonder how on earth time could pass so quickly and also at the same time just be amazed that its only been 3 months and all we have gone through in just that short amount of time. She was late for her 2 month appointment so I guess this could be her stats for being almost 3 months old.
We went to the doctor's yesterday and these are her measurements.....

Weight : 12 lbs. 1 oz. {74%}

Length: 23 3/4" {89%}

Head: 39 cm {49%}

She still has thrush. After being on the nasty medications that did nothing for the two weeks we had to shove it down her throat, the end reuslt, noting. So we are trying new things. Any suggestions? She is perfectly healthy and mostly happy. She still is quite the fussy little one but she is getting better. She is sleeping really well at night, the days are what we need to work on.﻿

Here are a few things we have learned about Ellie in the past 3 months that she has been alive...

she loves to be held. That is an understatement. She lives to be held.

She loves to eat and eat she does without fail every 3 hours.

She has to use a noise maker everytime she sleeps. It is a must in the Snyder home with 3 very loud, busy boys running around.

She still sleeps in our bedroom. I can't stand the thought of putting her by herself in her own room yet. But I know it is time and so we are working on it.

She loves to be in the center of attention.

She loves, loves it when her brothers sit down and talk to her.

She has the cutest chubbiest cheeks ever!

She has a mow hawk. Keaton thinks she looks like a punk rocker. But what else can you do with it? If I comb and part it, she looks like a boy, so up it goes. I think it is rather cute.

She is a great sleeper at night. She goes to bed without fail around 8:30 p.m. along with her other brothers.

October 16, 2011

This morning we woke up to lots of rain. It is now almost 2:30 p.m. and it is still raining. Fall is finally here. Now that its here I wish for a little warmer weather. The heater is on and its one of those days that you just want to curl up with a blanket and sleep the afternoon away. I remember those days. Those were the days when we had only one child. Now that we have 4, well those days are long gone now. The goal is to try to get to bed earlier so we get enough rest. Ellie is sleeping anywhere from 7-9 hours each night. This is a first for any of my babies this early to sleep such long stretches at night. It is a blessing. She struggles to sleep during the day and when she does finally fall asleep, she wakes back up within 10 minutes of being laid down. Days are crazy but we are getting better. She is getting better. Her smiles make it all worth it. She is trying to talk back and it is so sweet to see her try so hard. She is very slobbery. I am going to have to start putting a bib on her so we don't have to change clothing more than 3 x's a day. Life is good right now.
Halloween is only 2 weeks away. Where has the month of October gone? Christmas is just around the corner and we are already starting to prepare for it. It's true when they say "The older you are the faster time passes." I can only imagine how fast time will be when I am 80 years old. Maybe by then time will slow down when I am limited in my use of limbs. I hope to be going full speed at that age still.
We are in the process of making some of life's big decisions. Work has been put on the back burner and we are looking for something different. Lance is tired of it. We are tired of it. This job was a blessing in disguise when it came to us. We had been unemployed for over a year and things were getting tight. That is when this job approached us. We took it and ran with it. It has been a great job for the time we did it. We were able to employ two of Lance's brothers and we were able to clear debt. Now we are looking for another opportunity for our family. The only down side to that job was, it really put family time on hold. I felt like a single mom most of the time and Lance was pretty much on call 24/7. It was not that great for our family. So it is now time to put family first and find something that will help us out. Are we stressed? Lance, no. Me, well kind of. I know that the Lord provides and so I am learning to put my trust in Him.. He has always taken care of us and I know He will not forget us. So until then, we love like crazy, serve with all of our hearts and just wait to see what happens. I guess I shouldn't say wait because believe me, Lance is trying.
His passion in life is building homes. He really enjoys creating something beautiful. He is really good at it and there is a possibility that it will come back. We are looking at options.
Keaton is loving the first grade. He has a great teacher. This past week was Parent/Teacher conference and Mrs. Conn, his teacher, had nothing but good to say about him. He is testing alittle more advanced for the first grade so that is nice to know. He has always been intelligent. He will be one of those kids that are so smart in whatever subject or sport they play. It just comes naturally. He is very creative. Loves to put things together. Legos is a fun past time activity. His little buddy Logan who lives across the street comes over to play and they build amazing things. He is social. He gets that from me. I love people. I love to be around them. He has a lot of me in him. I also see a lot of Lance in him too.
Andrew is really doing well in Preschool. He has a great teacher this year and it is finally starting to learn the letters in his name. He is one of those children that is going to take his sweet time with anything. So true for anything he does in life. His timing and his pace. Kind of frustrating for a mom and dad who need things done. What can you do? Just love him and appreciate what he does. It is a hard lesson that is teaching me patience right now. He has made some fun friends and his Sunday School teachers just love him. He is full of life and its never boring with him around. He still asks for a treat just about every hour. Sometimes more often. This was our conversation yesterday...
Andrew: Mom, can I have another treat?
Me: No, Andrew! You just had one alittle while ago.
Andrew: Well its been too long and I need to have another one.
Me: Well you will just have to wait until after dinner. You can have a treat if you eat all your dinner.
Andrew: Well I will just have to go and find dad, because he always has a treat and my body is ready for another one.
Me: Dream on son! Dream on!
Andrew: I have dreams at night mom thanks!

He keeps me on my toes.
Owen, well, lets just say he is so much work, and so much fun! I can honestly say he is my hardest "terrible two" stage we have gone through. He is always trying to hit someone. Learns that from Andrew. He is always looking for something to eat. Learns that from Andrew too. His new favorite things to say that you will hear him say throughout the day are... "I want....." and " Look... I show you"
He is talking up a storm. But some of it we have to really listen hard and pay attention. Thank goodness we have two older brothers who interpret for us. How do they know what he is trying to say better than we do? I guess they understand that talk. He is into Barney and Power Rangers. Why these two terrible shows? Well thanks to NetFlix and two older brothers that is what he wants to watch.
Just yesterday the boys were watching one during the afternoon for quite time and they wanted me to watch one with them. Owen and Ellie were both down for naps and so I went up and watched it with them. About half way into it I started laughing really hard. Andrew asked me why I was laughing and I wanted to shout out to them that it was the stupidest show I had ever seen, but I couldn't hurt their feelings. Now most of you are probably thinking to yourself, "Why on earth do you let your children watch that?" Well it's simple. Sometimes I just give up and don't care. There is no harm in the shows, its just stupid. Maybe I should introduce something new. They still love Batman and Spiderman but they have branched out and found something new and so that is exciting to them.
Ellie, is doing so much better. She is so sweet and I could kiss her cheeks all day long. They are getting pretty round and when we wrap her up for nap time her cheeks just hang over the edge. She is eating well and sleeping well. Only at nights though. She struggles to stay asleep during the day. She loves to be talked to. She loves to hear you sing. When she is sad, she likes to hold onto a finger. She still has thrush after being on medication for the last 14 days. Her mouth is still covered. I don't know what we will do next. Any ideas? The medication made her throw up, gave her diarrea and she had constant upset stomachs. It was no fun to see her be like that. Now after it is all said and done, her mouth is still covered. She is just so loved. We love her and just love to watch her sleep at night.

How and I doing? I think I am doing better. I am starting to handle being a mother of 4 very busy children. Life is crazy most days. I am lucky if I get ready for the day but after listening to Sister Beck's fireside last night she told us to remember to do 4 important things. Those are...
1. Role out of bed onto your knees and thank Heavenly Father for another day
2. Then read from the scriptures. Even if it is one verse. It will change the day.
3. Then make your bed
4. Then get dressed and ready for the day.
She promised that if we did those 4 things before anything else, we were proving to the Lord that we were ready to tackle any battle or obstacle for that day. So that is what we are going to try and do this week. Wish me luck. I am about 15 llbs from where I want to be. Why does it feel like 15 lbs feels like 100? Because those are the hardest to lose. So this week I am dedicating more time for that. I really hate to work out but I love the end result and they way it makes me feel when I am done. I just need to find a quite place to do it. It is kind of hard to do it when I have children throwing pillows at me and running in and out of my legs during jumping jacks. Oh well. It will be a miracle when those 15 lbs. are gone.
I am sitting here quietly in the office while I hear all my boys play kick ball in the front room. Owen is miraculously sleeping through it all and Lance is trying to put Ellie to sleep.
It's still raining. Happy Sunday!

October 11, 2011

Every year we go down the street to Jeremy's Pumpkin Patch so the boys can pick out their pumpkins. We did it for our family night activity and they LOVED it! We were crossing our fingers that the weather would cooperate and it stopped raining just long enough for us to go down and find the perfect ones. They each found some and they were thrilled. Owen wasn't so much with all the weird blow up skeletons, and other weird things but he liked picking the pumpkins. He found the perfect one for Ellie while she was sleeping in the car. More pics to come.....

One of the many Snyder family traditions each year involves BYU Homecoming. We have made the trek to Provo every year since we have been married for it and we have had a fun time. This year almost everyone made it {we missed you Lee, Jaclyn and kids, Eldon, Shelli and Chiara too}. Everyone was together and it was so much fun. I really didn't see my boys the entire weekend. They were in cousin heaven.
Friday evening when we got there we went over to the church across the street for pizza and games. It was the perfect place for all the kids to run wild. Great idea!

Here are most of the grandkids that were there playing.﻿

Playing tag with grandma and grandpa Snyder

My little Brantly in his adorable hat, who is going to be a big brother pretty soon! Congrats John and Carrie!!!!

My sister-n-law and my neice Tessa. Now I must tell you that Tessa was just so sweet. The last time I saw here was when she was a baby. She was just the cutest, funnest and sweetest little girl. I fell in love with her hair, and you can tell by some pictures I took. It was cotton candy hair literally and you could just rat it anyway you wanted. So cute!

Tessa's hair in the morning. Couldn't resist it!

More of Tessa's hair

I must tell you first of all that almost all of my in-laws live next to each other. They live just east of campus up against the mountains and it is absolutely gorgeous up there. Lance's parents built a home up there and then two of this other siblings built next to each other. It is so nice that everyone can just go from house to house and when everyone comes to town, there are plenty of basements to fill. We stayed with Tom and Sharlene. Sharlene is Lance's older sister and they were fabulous hosts this weekend. A huge thanks to them. Tommy is a Chemical Engineer professer at BYU and he just recently finsihed their basement. It was all ours this weekend and it was so nice to have all the space. Their basement is pretty much done. I fell in love with their colors, design and everything else. It is a very modern look. Something completely different and so fun. Check it out....

The wall that holds the T.V. looks almost like golf balls sticking out of the wall. It was so much fun. It adds so much character to the room.

Here is the bathroom. It was so clean, and so nicely put together. We loved it Tom and Sharlene!
Even though Owen didn't sleep much, we still had a good time. Ellie slept like a charm. Thanks Ellie! That helps mom out when Owen is up and wondering the house at night. Was not fun, let me tell ya!
Saturday we headed to Mapleton where Lance's family gathers. All 100 of them for breakfast and for the family devotional that Great Grandma and Grandpa Ray put together. Unforunatley we didnt' make it that early in the morning but we headed up there with everyone else for lunch and chit chat. It has snowed about 2-3 inches up there and they kiddos thought it would be so much fun to have a snow ball fight and to ride the zip line that they have in their backyard. Andrew was soaking wet by the time they were all done. I guess being cold/or hot doesn't affect they way they think or act. Poor boy, was so cold afterwards.
Since the BYU game wasn't until 8 that night I stayed home with the kids while Lance went with his family to the game. Go Cougars! Horray for a win! They had a good time and we got some much needed rest.
Sunday we all went to church and then we had Ellie's blessing afterwards. Church was just fine. It was the only nice day out of the whole weekend so afterwards we set up our luncheon outside and let the kids run and play. Everyone gathered at mom and dad's house where we had the blessing.
Here was the pictures from her blessing day....

Great Grandma and Grandpa Ray with Ellie. These are the two sweetest people you will ever meet. They are really very sweet Grandparents. We love you! They have the most energy I have ever seen in a couple over 90 years of age. Ellie was their 159th Great Grandchild! That is truly amazing!!!﻿

All the Snyder girls from left to right {Sharlene, Lesa, Carrie, Shauna, Me, Camille, momma Snyder, Great Grandma Ray, and Rashelle }﻿

Meet the Masons! They just moved from Mesa to the Salt Lake area. A huge change for these sweet kids. They are a very sweet family. We love the Masons.﻿

Sweet Tessa﻿

My not so little family anymore﻿

Owen carried the train everywhere this weekend.﻿

Lance's younger brother Paul and his sweet family {all girls}﻿

Right after the blessing.﻿

A huge thanks to everyone who made this weekend so special and happy for us! We love and miss you already! Let's do this again sometime soon!!!!﻿